Official name	City of Cleveland
Settlement type	City
Nickname	The Forest City
Motto	Progress & Prosperity
Website	www.city.cleveland.oh.us
Image seal	Cleveland seal-T.png
Map caption	Location in Cuyahoga County
Pushpin map	USA Ohio
Pushpin label position	right
Pushpin mapsize	250
Pushpin map caption	Location in Ohio
Coordinates region	US-OH
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision type1	State
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name	United States
Subdivision name1	Ohio
Subdivision name2	Cuyahoga
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Frank G. Jackson (D)
Established title	Founded
Established date	1796
Established title2	Incorporated
Established date2	1814 (village)
Established title3
Established date3	1836 (city)
Unit pref	Imperial
Population as of	2009
Population total	431,639 (43rd)
Population metro	2250871
Population density km2	2380.9
Population density sq mi	6166.5
Population blank1 title	Demonym
Population blank1	Clevelander
Area code	216
Timezone	EST
Utc offset	-5
Timezone dst	EDT
Utc offset dst	-4
Coordinates display	inline,title
Elevation m	199
Elevation ft	653
Blank name	FIPS code
Blank info	39-16000
Blank1 name	GNIS feature ID
Blank1 info	[ 1066654]

Cleveland () is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border. It was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, and became a manufacturing center owing to its location at the head of numerous canals and railroad lines. With the decline of heavy manufacturing, Cleveland's businesses have diversified into the service economy, including the financial services, insurance, legal, and healthcare sectors. Cleveland is also home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

As of the 2000 Census, the city proper had a total population of 478,403, and was the 33rd largest city in the United States, (now estimated as the 43rd largest due to declines in population) and the second largest city in Ohio. The city's population has been shrinking since it peaked at 914,808 in 1950. It is the center of Greater Cleveland, the largest metropolitan area in Ohio. The Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor Metropolitan Statistical Area which in 2000 ranked as the 23rd largest in the United States with 2,250,871 people. Cleveland is also part of the larger Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined Statistical Area, which in 2000 had a population of 2,945,831, and ranked as the country's 14th largest.

Suburbanization changed the city in the late 1960s and 1970s, when financial difficulties and a notorious 1969 fire on the Cuyahoga River challenged the city. The city has worked to improve its infrastructure, diversify its economy, and invest in the arts ever since, and now Cleveland is considered an exemplar for public-private partnerships, downtown revitalization, and urban renaissance. In studies conducted by The Economist in 2005 Cleveland was ranked as one of the most livable cities in the United States, and the city was ranked as the best city for business meetings in the continental U.S. The city faces continuing challenges, in particular from concentrated poverty in some neighborhoods and difficulties in the funding and delivery of high-quality public education.

Residents of Cleveland are called Clevelanders. Nicknames for the city include "The Forest City", "Metropolis of the Western Reserve", "The Rock 'n' Roll Capital of the World", "C-Town" Due to ocean access provided by the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the Cleveland area is also referred to as "The North Coast".

History

Cleveland obtained its name on July 22, 1796 when surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company laid out Connecticut's Western Reserve into townships and a capital city they named "Cleaveland" after their leader, General Moses Cleaveland. Cleaveland oversaw the plan for the modern downtown area, centered on the Public Square, before returning home, never again to visit Ohio. The first settler in Cleaveland was Lorenzo Carter, who built a cabin on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. The Village of Cleaveland was incorporated on December 23, 1814. In spite of the nearby swampy lowlands and harsh winters, its waterfront location proved to be an advantage. The area began rapid growth after the 1832 completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal. This key link between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes connected the city to the Atlantic Ocean via the Erie Canal and later via the St. Lawrence Seaway; and the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. Growth continued with added railroad links. Cleveland incorporated as a city in 1836. Ohio City remained an independent municipality until it was annexed by Cleveland in 1854. Cleveland emerged as a major American manufacturing center, home to numerous major steel producers, as well as a number of carmakers, including gasoline cars Peerless, People's, Jordan, Winton (first car driven across the U.S.), steam car builders White and Gaeth, and electric car company Baker. By 1920, Cleveland had become the fifth largest city in the country. winds through the Flats in a December 1937 aerial view of downtown Cleveland.]]

In commemoration of the centennial of Cleveland's incorporation as a city, the Great Lakes Exposition debuted in June 1936 along the Lake Erie shore north of downtown. Conceived as a way to energize a city hit hard by the Great Depression, it drew 4 million visitors in its first season, and 7 million by the end of its second and final season in September 1937. The exposition was housed on grounds that are now used by the Great Lakes Science Center, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Burke Lakefront Airport, among others. Immediately after World War II, the city experienced a brief boom. In sports, the Indians won the 1948 World Series and the Browns dominated professional football in the 1950s. Businesses proclaimed that Cleveland was the "best location in the nation". The city's population reached its peak of 914,808, and in 1949 Cleveland was named an All-America City for the first time. By the 1960s, however, heavy industries began to slump, and residents sought new housing in the suburbs, reflecting the national trends of white flight and urban sprawl. Like other major American cities, Cleveland also began witnessing racial unrest, culminating in the Hough Riots from July 18, 1966 – July 23, 1966 and the Glenville Shootout on July 23, 1968 – July 25, 1968. The city's nadir is often considered to be its default on its loans on December 15, 1978, when under Mayor Dennis Kucinich it became the first major American city to enter default since the Great Depression. The city has worked to shed this nickname ever since, though in recent times the national media have been much kinder to the city, using it as an exemplar for public-private partnerships, downtown revitalization, and urban renaissance. ]] The metropolitan area began recovery thereafter under Mayors George Voinovich and Michael R. White. Redevelopment within the city limits has been strongest in the downtown area near the Gateway complex—consisting of Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena, and near North Coast Harbor—including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Browns Stadium, and the Great Lakes Science Center. Although Cleveland was hailed by the media as the "Comeback City," many of the inner-city residential neighborhoods remain troubled, and the public school system continues to experience serious problems. Economic development, retention of young professionals, and capitalizing upon its waterfront are current municipal priorities. In 1999, Cleveland was identified as an emerging global city.

Geography

Topography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. The total area is 5.87% water. The shore of Lake Erie is above sea level; however, the city lies on a series of irregular bluffs lying roughly parallel to the lake. In Cleveland these bluffs are cut principally by the Cuyahoga River, Big Creek, and Euclid Creek. The land rises quickly from the lakeshore. Public Square, less than a mile (2 km) inland, sits at an elevation of , and Hopkins Airport, only inland from the lake, is at an elevation of .

Climate

Cleveland possesses a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa), typical of much of the central United States, with very warm, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. The Lake Erie shoreline is very close to due east-west from the mouth of the Cuyahoga west to Sandusky, but at the mouth of the Cuyahoga it turns sharply northeast. This feature is the principal contributor to the lake effect snow that is typical in Cleveland (especially on the city's East Side) from mid-November until the surface of Lake Erie freezes, usually in late January or early February. All of these contribute to Cleveland being the second snowiest major city in North America (behind Denver). The lake effect also causes a relative differential in geographical snowfall totals across the city: while Hopkins Airport, on the city's far West Side, has only reached of snowfall in a season three times since 1968, seasonal totals approaching or exceeding are not uncommon as the city ascends into the Heights on the east, where the region known as the 'Snow Belt' begins. Extending from the city's East Side and its suburbs, the Snow Belt up the Lake Erie shore as far as Buffalo.

The all-time record high in Cleveland of was established on June 25, 1988, and the all-time record low of was set on January 19, 1994. On average, July is the warmest month with a mean temperature of , and January, with a mean temperature of , is the coldest. Normal yearly precipitation based on the 30-year average from 1971 to 2000 is . The least precipitation occurs on the western side and directly along the lake, and the most occurs in the eastern suburbs. Parts of Geauga County receive over 44 inches of liquid precipitation annually.

Occasionally, Severe Thunderstorms strike Cleveland bringing with them the threat of large Hail, damaging winds and Tornadoes. The threat is greatest during Spring and early summer.

Cityscape

Architecture

at Cleveland's North Coast Harbor.]] Cleveland's downtown architecture is diverse. Many of the city's government and civic buildings, including City Hall, the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, the Cleveland Public Library, and Public Auditorium, are clustered around an open mall and share a common neoclassical architecture. Built in the early 20th century, they are the result of the 1903 Group Plan, and constitute one of the most complete examples of City Beautiful design in the United States. The Terminal Tower, dedicated in 1930, was the tallest building in North America outside New York City until 1967 and the tallest in the city until 1991. It is a prototypical Beaux-Arts skyscraper. The two newer skyscrapers on Public Square, Key Tower (currently the tallest building in Ohio) and the BP Building, combine elements of Art Deco architecture with postmodern designs. Another of Cleveland's architectural treasures is The Arcade (sometimes called the Old Arcade), a five-story arcade built in 1890 and renovated in 2001 as a Hyatt Regency Hotel. Cleveland's landmark ecclesiastical architecture includes the historic Old Stone Church in downtown Cleveland and the onion domed St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Tremont. , with the Warehouse District, the Cuyahoga River, and Lake Erie in the background]] Running east from Public Square through University Circle is Euclid Avenue, which was known for its prestige and elegance. In the late 1880s, writer Bayard Taylor described it as "the most beautiful street in the world." Known as "Millionaire's Row", Euclid Avenue was world-renowned as the home of such internationally known names as Rockefeller, Hanna, and Hay. Cleveland is home to four parks in the countywide Cleveland Metroparks system, the "Emerald Necklace" of Olmsted-inspired parks that encircles the region. In the Big Creek valley sits the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, which contains one of the largest collection of primates in North America. The other three parks are Brookside Park and parts of the Rocky River and Washington Reservations. Apart from the Metroparks is Cleveland Lakefront State Park, which provides public access to Lake Erie. Among its six parks are Edgewater Park, located between the Shoreway and Lake Erie just west of downtown, and Euclid Beach Park and Gordon Park on the east side. The City of Cleveland's Rockefeller Park, with its many Cultural Gardens honoring the city's ethnic groups, follows Doan Brook across the city's east side.

Neighborhoods

. ]] Downtown Cleveland is centered around Public Square and includes a wide range of diversified districts. Downtown Cleveland is home to the traditional Financial District and Civic Center, as well as the distinct Theater District, which is home to Playhouse Square Center. Mixed-use neighborhoods such as the Flats and the Warehouse District are occupied by industrial and office buildings as well as restaurants and bars. The number of downtown housing units in the form of condominiums, lofts, and apartments has been on the increase since the year 2000. Recent developments include the revival of the Flats, the Euclid Corridor Project, and the developments along East 4th Street . and the Cuyahoga River in downtown Cleveland]] Cleveland residents geographically define themselves in terms of whether they live on the east or west side of the Cuyahoga River. The East Side includes the neighborhoods of Buckeye-Shaker, Central, Collinwood, Corlett, Euclid-Green, Fairfax, Forest Hills, Glenville, Payne/Goodrich-Kirtland Park, Hough, Kinsman, Lee Harvard/Seville-Miles, Mount Pleasant, Nottingham, St. Clair-Superior, Union-Miles Park, University Circle, Little Italy, and Woodland Hills. The West Side includes the neighborhoods of Brooklyn Centre, Clark-Fulton, Detroit-Shoreway, Cudell, Edgewater, Ohio City, Tremont, Old Brooklyn, Stockyards, West Boulevard, and the four neighborhoods colloquially known as West Park: Kamm's Corners, Jefferson, Puritas-Longmead, and Riverside. Three neighborhoods in the Cuyahoga Valley are sometimes referred to as the south side: Industrial Valley/Duck Island, Slavic Village (North and South Broadway), and Tremont. photograph of Cleveland and its surrounding suburbs]] Several inner-city neighborhoods have begun to gentrify in recent years. Areas on both the west side (Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit-Shoreway, and Edgewater) and the east side (Collinwood, Hough, Fairfax, and Little Italy) have been successful in attracting increasing numbers of creative class members, which in turn is spurring new residential development. Furthermore, a live-work zoning overlay for the city's near east side has facilitated the transformation of old industrial buildings into loft spaces for artists.

Suburbs

Cleveland's older inner-ring suburbs include Bedford, Bedford Heights, Brook Park, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, Cleveland Heights, Cuyahoga Heights, East Cleveland, Euclid, Fairview Park, Garfield Heights, Lakewood, Linndale, Maple Heights, Newburgh Heights, Parma, Parma Heights, Shaker Heights, South Euclid, University Heights, and Warrensville Heights. Many are members of the Northeast Ohio First Suburbs Consortium.

Culture

Fine arts

lies at the edge of Wade Lagoon in University Circle.]] Cleveland is home to Playhouse Square Center, the second largest performing arts center in the United States behind New York's Lincoln Center. Playhouse Square includes the State, Palace, Allen, Hanna, and Ohio theaters within what is known as the Theater District of Downtown Cleveland. Playhouse Square's resident performing arts companies include Opera Cleveland and the Great Lakes Theater Festival. The center also hosts various Broadway musicals, special concerts, speaking engagements, and other events throughout the year. One Playhouse Square, now the headquarters for Cleveland's public broadcasters, was originally used as the broadcast studios of WJW Radio, where disc jockey Alan Freed first popularized the term "rock and roll". Located between Playhouse Square and University Circle are the Cleveland Play House and Karamu House, a well-known African American performing and fine arts center, both founded in the 1920s. Cleveland is also home to the Cleveland Orchestra, widely considered one of the finest orchestras in the world, and often referred to as the finest in the United States. It is one of the "Big Five" major orchestras in the United States. The Orchestra plays in Severance Hall during the winter and at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls during the summer. The city is also home to the Cleveland Pops Orchestra. There are two main art museums in Cleveland. The Cleveland Museum of Art is a major American art museum, with a collection that includes more than 40,000 works of art ranging over 6,000 years, from ancient masterpieces to contemporary pieces. Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland showcases established and emerging artists, particularly from the Cleveland area, through hosting and producing temporary exhibitions. The Gordon Square Arts District on Detroit Road, in the Near West Side, features a movie theater called the Capitol Theatre and an off-off-Broadway playhouse, the Cleveland Public Theatre.

Film and television

Cleveland has served as the setting for several major studio and independent films. Players from the Cleveland Indians, winners of the 1948 World Series, appear in The Kid from Cleveland (1949). Cleveland Municipal Stadium features prominently in both that film and The Fortune Cookie (1966), written and directed by Billy Wilder — Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon's first on-screen collaboration. Director Jules Dassin's first American film in nearly twenty years, Up Tight! (1968) is set in Cleveland of April 1968 immediately following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Set in 1930s Cleveland, Sylvester Stallone stars as a warehouse worker who leads the local labor union in F.I.S.T. (1978). Paul Simon chose Cleveland as the setting for his first (and to date, only) venture into filmmaking, One Trick Pony (1980); Simon spent six weeks filming concert scenes in Cleveland's Agora venue. The boxing-match-turned-riot near the start of Raging Bull (1980) takes place at the Cleveland Arena in 1941, and Cleveland of the 1950s was portrayed in the real-life Cleveland of the late 1970s in Those Lips, Those Eyes (1980). Clevelander Jim Jarmusch's critically-acclaimed and independently-produced Stranger Than Paradise (1984) — a deadpan comedy about two New Yorkers who travel to Florida by way of Cleveland — was a favorite of the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Caméra d'Or. The cult-classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984) includes a memorable scene where the fictional band gets lost backstage just before performing at a Cleveland rock concert. Howard the Duck (1986), George Lucas' attempt at adapting the Marvel comic of the same name, begins with the title character crashing into Cleveland after drifting in outer space. Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett play the brother/sister leads of a Cleveland rock group in Light of Day (1987); directed by Paul Schrader, much of the film was shot in the city. Both Major League (1989) and its sequel, Major League II (1994), reflected the of the Cleveland Indians. Kevin Bacon stars in Telling Lies in America (1997), the semi-autobiographical tale of Clevelander Joe Eszterhas, a former reporter for The Plain Dealer. A group of Cleveland teenagers try to scam their way into a Kiss concert in Detroit Rock City (1999), and several key scenes from director Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000) are set in Cleveland. Antwone Fisher (2002) recounts the real-life story of the Cleveland native. Brother/writer/director pair Joe and Anthony Russo — native Clevelanders and alumni of Case Western Reserve University — filmed their comedy Welcome to Collinwood (2002) entirely on location in the city. American Splendor (2003) — the biopic of Harvey Pekar, author of the autobiographical comic of the same name — was also filmed on location throughout Cleveland, as was The Oh in Ohio (2006). Much of The Rocker (2008) is set in the city, and Cleveland native Nathaniel Ayers' life story is told in The Soloist (2009).

The city of Cleveland has also doubled for several other locations in film. The wedding and reception scenes in The Deer Hunter (1978), while set in the small Pittsburgh suburb of Clairton, were actually shot in the Cleveland neighborhood of Tremont; U.S. Steel also permitted the production to film in one of its Cleveland mills. Francis Ford Coppola produced The Escape Artist (1982), much of which was shot downtown near City Hall and the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, as well as the Flats. A Christmas Story (1983) was set in Indiana, but drew many of its external shots from Cleveland. Double Dragon (1994) filmed in an abandoned warehouse along Cleveland's Lake Erie shoreline, the Flats along the Cuyahoga River and Tower City Center. Much of Happy Gilmore (1996) was also shot in Cleveland, and the opening shots of Air Force One (1997) were filmed in and above Severance Hall. Most recently, a complex chase and battle scene in Spider-Man 3 (2007), though set in New York City, was actually filmed along Cleveland's Euclid Avenue. Hot in Cleveland, a new comedy airing on TV Land, premiered on June 16, 2010.

Literature

The American modernist poet Hart Crane was born in nearby Garrettsville, Ohio in 1899. His adolescence was divided between Cleveland and Akron before moving to New York City, finally in 1916. Aside from factory work during the first world war, he served as reporter to the Cleveland Plain Dealer for a short period, before achieving recognition in the Modernist literary scene. A diminutive memorial park is dedicated to Crane along the left bank of the Cuyahoga in Cleveland.

Langston Hughes, preeminent poet of the Harlem Renaissance and child of an itinerant couple, attended high school in Cleveland in the 1910s.

Cleveland was the home of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, who created the comic book character Superman in 1932. Both attended Glenville High School, and their early collaborations resulted in the creation of "The Man of Steel". D. A. Levy wrote : "Cleveland: The Rectal Eye Visions". Mystery author Richard Montanari's first three novels, Deviant Way, The Violet Hour, and Kiss of Evil are set in Cleveland. Mystery writer, Les Roberts's Milan Jacovich series is also set in Cleveland.

Cuisine

is in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood.]] Cleveland's melting pot of immigrant groups and their various culinary traditions have long played an important role in defining the local cuisine. Examples of these can particularly be found in neighborhoods such as Little Italy, Slavic Village, and Tremont.

Local mainstays of Cleveland's cuisine include an abundance of Central and Eastern European contributions, such as kielbasa, stuffed cabbage and pierogies. Cleveland also has plenty of corned beef, with nationally renowned Slyman's, on the near East Side, a perennial winner of various accolades from Esquire Magazine, including the being named the best corned beef sandwich in America in 2008. Other famed sandwiches include the Cleveland original, Polish Boy, a local favorite found at many BBQ and Soul food restaurants. With its blue-collar roots well intact, and plenty of Lake Erie perch available, the tradition of Friday night fish fries remains alive and thriving in Cleveland, particularly in the church-based settings. The award-winning Great Lakes Brewing Company (located across the street from the historic West Side Market), offers several locally styled beers and ales.

Culinary acclaim

Cleveland has also become increasingly relevant in the world of haute cuisine. Famous local figures include chef Michael Symon and food writer Michael Ruhlman, both of whom achieved local and national attentions for their contributions in the culinary world. On November 11, 2007, Symon helped gained the spotlight when he was named "The Next Iron Chef" on the Food Network. Also In 2007, Ruhlman collaborated with Anthony Bourdain, to do an entire episode of his focusing on Cleveland's restaurant scene.

The national food press — including publications Gourmet, Food & Wine, Esquire and Playboy — has heaped praise on several Cleveland spots for awards including 'best new restaurant', 'best steakhouse', 'best farm-to-table programs' and 'great new neighborhood eateries'.

Tourism

on the shores of Lake Erie ]] Five miles (8 km) east of downtown Cleveland is University Circle, a concentration of cultural, educational, and medical institutions, including the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals, Severance Hall, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and the Western Reserve Historical Society. Cleveland is also home to the I. M. Pei-designed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located on the Lake Erie waterfront at North Coast Harbor downtown. Neighboring attractions include Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Great Lakes Science Center, the Steamship Mather Museum, and the USS Cod, a World War II submarine. Cleveland also has an attraction for visitors and fans of A Christmas Story, A Christmas Story House and Museum to see props, costumes, rooms, photos and everything referenced to a yuletide film classic from the mind of Jean Shepherd. Cleveland is home to many festivals throughout the year. Cultural festivals such as the annual Feast of the Assumption in the Little Italy neighborhood, the Hellenic Heritage Festival at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in the Tremont neighborhood, the Harvest Festival in the Slavic Village neighborhood, and the more recent Cleveland Asian Festival in the Asia Town neighborhood are popular events. Vendors at the West Side Market in Ohio City offer many different ethnic foods for sale. Cleveland hosts an annual parade on Saint Patrick's Day that brings hundreds of thousands to the streets of downtown. recreates a Costa Rican rain forest.]] Fashion Week Cleveland, the city's annual fashion event, is one of the few internationally recognized fashion industry happenings in North America. The show is considered by many to be the best in the Midwest—perhaps second only to New York for fashion weeks in the US. In addition to the cultural festivals, Cleveland hosted the CMJ Rock Hall Music Fest, which featured national and local acts, including both established artists and up-and-coming acts, but the festival was discontinued in 2007 due to financial and manpower costs to the Rock Hall. The annual Ingenuity Fest, Notacon and TEDxCLE conference focus on the combination of art and technology. The Cleveland International Film Festival has been held annually since 1977, and it drew a record 66,476 people in March 2009. Cleveland also hosts an annual holiday display lighting and celebration, dubbed Winterfest, which is held downtown at the city's historic hub, Public Square.

Sports

pregame festivities at Quicken Loans Arena ]] Cleveland's professional sports teams include the Cleveland Indians (Major League Baseball), Cleveland Browns (National Football League), Cleveland Cavaliers (National Basketball Association), Lake Erie Monsters (American Hockey League), and the Cleveland Gladiators (Arena Football League). Local sporting facilities include Progressive Field, Cleveland Browns Stadium, Quicken Loans Arena and the Wolstein Center.

The Indians last reached the World Series in 1997, losing to the Florida Marlins, and have not won the series since 1948. Between 1995 and 2001, Progressive Field (then known as Jacobs Field) sold out 455 consecutive games, a Major League Baseball record until it was broken in 2008. The Cavs won the Eastern Conference in 2007, but were defeated in the NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurs. And although the Browns are historically among the winningest franchises in the NFL, the team hasn't won a championship since 1964.

games attract large crowds to Cleveland Browns Stadium.]] The city's failure to win a trophy in any major professional sport since 1964 has earned it a reputation of being a cursed sports city, which ESPN validated by proclaiming Cleveland as its "most tortured sports city" in 2004. In addition, changes in the Cleveland sports landscape have led to further heartbreak and resentment among local fans, the most notable instances being Art Modell's relocation of the Browns to Baltimore after the 1995 season (that franchise became the Ravens, with the current Browns team starting play in 1999), and Akron native LeBron James' decision to leave the Cavaliers in 2010 for the Miami Heat.

A notable Cleveland athlete is Jesse Owens, who grew up in the city after moving from Alabama when he was nine. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the long jump, and as part of the 4 x 100 meter relay team.

racing on the Cuyahoga River ]] Cleveland facilities have hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game five times, the NBA All-Star Game twice, and the United States Figure Skating Championships four times. The city hosted the Gravity Games, an extreme sports series, from 2002 to 2004, and the Dew Action Sports Tour Right Guard Open in 2007. Cleveland will host the 2014 Gay Games.

Past teams

The city has been home to several additional professional sports franchises, including a women's basketball team and multiple soccer teams. Cleveland has also been home to several ice hockey franchises, beginning in 1937 with the AHL member Cleveland Barons. The original Barons, although having been the most successful team in AHL history at that point, folded in 1973 when Nick Mileti's short-lived WHA franchise, the Cleveland Crusaders began play. The new league created a financial disparity that the Barons could not compete with. Local philanthropist George Gund facilitated the relocation of the NHL's California Golden Seals to Cleveland in 1976 and renamed them the Barons. However, this latest incarnation was short lived, with the team merging with the Minnesota North Stars following the 1977-78 season. Although the Rockers finished first in the WNBA Eastern Conference on two occasions, they never made an appearance in the WNBA Finals. The team folded in 2003 after the league was unable to find a new owner. Previous owner Gordon Gund had dropped the team from operation, citing financial losses and poor attendance.

From 1978 to 1988, Cleveland was home to the Cleveland Force of the MISL. After the Force folded in 1988 they were replaced by the Cleveland Crunch of the NPSL and MISL, who played from 1989 to 2005. The Crunch won three league championships in the 1990s and adopted the Force name in 2002 before ceasing operations in 2005. The Cleveland City Stars played in the United Soccer Leagues from 2006 to 2009, winning the USL Second Division championship in 2008.

College sports

The headquarters of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) are located in Cleveland. The conference also stages both its men's and women's basketball tournaments at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Cleveland State Vikings men's and women's basketball teams play their home games at the Wolstein Center. The university is considering forming a non-scholarship Division I FCS football program.

Media

The city's main printed news source is The Plain Dealer, Cleveland's sole remaining daily newspaper. Previous major newspapers in Cleveland include the afternoon newspaper, the Cleveland Press, which printed its last edition on June 17, 1982, and the Cleveland News, which ceased publication in 1960. Additional newspaper coverage includes the Thursdays-only Sun Herald and Sun Herald-Post, which serve a few neighborhoods on the city's west side. Free newspaper publications include the Cleveland Scene, an alternative weekly paper, which absorbed its competitor, the Cleveland Free Times in 2008. Also, nationally-distributed rock magazine Alternative Press was founded in Cleveland; the publication's headquarters remain based in the city.

Combined with nearby Akron and Canton, Cleveland is ranked for 2009–2010 as the 18th largest television market by Nielsen Media Research. The market is served by 10 stations affiliated with major American networks including: WKYC (channel 3, channel 17 digital NBC), WEWS (channel 5, channel 15 digital ABC), WJW-TV (channel 8 digital Fox), WOIO (channel 19, channel 10 digital CBS), WUAB (channel 43, channel 28 digital MNTV), and WBNX-TV (channel 55, channel 30 digital The CW). Cleveland is also served by WVPX (channel 23 digital ION), Spanish-language channel WQHS-TV (channel 61, channel 34 digital Univision), WDLI-TV (channel 17, channel 49 digital TBN) and WVIZ (channel 25, channel 26 digital) PBS. A national television first was The Morning Exchange on WEWS, which defined the morning show format and served as the inspiration for Good Morning America. Media personalities Tim Conway and Ernie Anderson first established themselves while working together at WKYC and WJW-TV. Anderson, the father of director Paul Thomas Anderson, was both the creator of and actor who portrayed the immensely popular Cleveland horror host character Ghoulardi.

Cleveland is served directly by 29 AM and FM radio stations; numerous other stations are heard from elsewhere in Northeast Ohio. WTAM, a news/talk station, serves as the AM flagship of Cleveland’s 3 major sports teams (the Browns, Cavaliers and Indians), and as such, is frequently among the highest rated stations. Commercial FM music stations consistently round out the rest of Arbitron's top-ten: and serves the Cleveland affiliate for the Ohio State Buckeyes; the station's frequency (850 AM) was previously used by WJW-AM — once the home of Alan Freed, the Cleveland disc-jockey, who, along with Cleveland record store owner Leo Mintz, is credited with first using the phrase "Rock 'n' Roll" to describe the music genre. News/talk station WHK (1420 AM) was one of the nation's first 6 broadcast stations; its former sister station, rock station WMMS (originally known as WHK-FM), dominated Cleveland radio in the 1970s and 80s and was at that time one of the highest rated radio stations in the country. In 1972, WMMS Program Director Billy Bass coined the phrase "The Rock 'n' Roll Capital of the World" to describe Cleveland.

Economy

Cleveland's location on the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie has been key to its growth. The Ohio and Erie Canal coupled with rail links helped establish the city as a major American manufacturing center. Steel and many other manufactured goods emerged as its industries.

The city has sought to diversify its economy to expand beyond on its manufacturing sector. Cleveland is the corporate headquarters of many large companies such as Applied Industrial Technologies, Eaton, Forest City Enterprises, Sherwin-Williams Company and KeyCorp. NASA maintains a facility in Cleveland, the Glenn Research Center. Jones Day, one of the largest law firms in the world, traces its origins to Cleveland, and its Cleveland office remains the firm's largest.

In 2005, Duke Realty Corp., one of the area's largest landlords, announced it was selling property in the Cleveland; however, the company continues to maintain a large office building portfolio in the southern suburbs. The commercial real estate market rebounded in 2007 as office properties were purchased at a record pace. and ten percent of the city's homes are now vacant, due in part to the rise in foreclosure filings. from the Superior Viaduct]]

Cleveland's largest employer, the Cleveland Clinic, ranks among America's best hospitals as tabulated by U.S. News & World Report. Cleveland's healthcare industry includes University Hospitals of Cleveland, a noted competitor which ranked twenty-fifth in cancer care, and MetroHealth medical center. Cleveland is an emerging area for biotechnology and fuel cell research, led by Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Clinic, and University Hospitals of Cleveland. Cleveland is among the top recipients of investment for biotech start-ups and research. Case Western Reserve, the Clinic, and University Hospitals have recently announced plans to build a large biotechnology research center and incubator on the site of the former Mt. Sinai Medical Center, creating a research campus to stimulate biotech startup companies that can be spun off from research conducted in the city.

is adjacent to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.]]

City leaders stepped up efforts to grow the technology sector in the early 2000s. Former Mayor Jane L. Campbell appointed a "tech czar" whose job is to actively recruit tech companies to the downtown office market, offering connections to the high-speed fiber networks that run underneath downtown streets in several "high-tech offices" focused on the Euclid Avenue area. Cleveland State University hired a Technology Transfer Officer to work full time on cultivating technology transfers from CSU research to marketable ideas and companies in the Cleveland area, and appointed a Vice President for Economic Development to leverage the university's assets in expanding the city's economy. Case Western Reserve University participates in technology initiatives such as the OneCommunity project, a high-speed fiber optic network linking the area's major research centers intended to stimulate growth. OneCommunity's work attracted the attention of Intel and in mid-2005, Cleveland was named an Intel "Worldwide Digital Community" along with Corpus Christi, Texas, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Taipei, Taiwan. This distinction added about $12 million for marketing to expand regional technology partnerships, create a city-wide WiFi network, and develop a tech economy. In addition to this Intel initiative, in January 2006 a New York–based think tank, the Intelligent Community Forum, selected Cleveland as the sole American city among its seven finalists for the "Intelligent Community of the Year" award. The group announced that it nominated the city for its OneCommunity network with potential broadband applications. The OneCommunity Network is collaborating with Cisco Systems to deploy a cutting-edge wireless network that could provide widespread access to the region. Cisco is testing new technologies in wireless "mesh" networking. OneCommunity and Cisco officially launched the first phase in September 2006, blanketing several square miles of University Circle with wireless connectivity.

Government and politics

Cleveland's position as a center of manufacturing established it as a hotbed of union activity early in its history. This contributed to a political progressivism that has influenced Cleveland politics to the present. While other parts of Ohio, particularly Cincinnati and the southern portion of the state, have historically supported the Republican Party, Cleveland commonly breeds the strongest support in the state for the Democrats; At the local level, elections are nonpartisan. However, Democrats still dominate every level of government. Cleveland is split between two congressional districts. Most of the western part of the city is in the 10th District, represented by Dennis Kucinich. Most of the eastern part of the city, as well as most of downtown, is in the 11th District, represented by Marcia Fudge. Both are Democrats. During the 2004 Presidential election, although George W. Bush carried Ohio by 2.1%, John Kerry carried Cuyahoga County 66.6%-32.9%, his largest margin in any Ohio county. The city of Cleveland supported Kerry over Bush by the even larger margin of 83.3%-15.8%. The city of Cleveland operates on the mayor-council (strong mayor) form of government. The mayor is the chief executive of the city, and the office is held in 2010 by Frank G. Jackson. Previous mayors of Cleveland include progressive Democrat Tom L. Johnson, World War I era War Secretary and founder of Baker Hostetler law firm Newton D. Baker, United States Supreme Court Justice Harold Hitz Burton, Republican Senator George V. Voinovich, two-term Ohio Governor and Senator, current Representative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio's 10th district, Frank J. Lausche, and Carl B. Stokes, the first African American mayor of a major American city.

Demographics

According to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey estimates, the racial composition of Cleveland was 52.5% African American, 40.4% White (35.5% Non-Hispanic Whites), 0.3% Native American, 1.5% Asian American, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 3.0% of some other race, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic and Latino Americans of any race accounted for 9.0% of its population, with Puerto Ricans being the largest hispanic group.

As of the 2000 Census, there were 478,403 people, 190,638 households, and 111,904 families residing in the city. The population density was 6,166.5 people per square mile (2,380.9/km²). There were 215,856 housing units at an average density of 2,782.4 per square mile (1,074.3/km²). Ethnic groups include Germans (9.2%), Irish (8.2%), Poles (4.8%), Italians (4.6%), and English (2.8%). There are also substantial communities of Slovaks, Hungarians, French, Slovenes, Czechs, Ukrainians, Arabs, Dutch, Scottish, Russian, Scotch Irish, Croats, West Indians, Romanians, Lithuanians, and Greeks. The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from the South. Between 1920 and 1960, the black population of Cleveland increased from 35,000 to 251,000. congregation.]]

Out of 190,638 households, 29.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.5% were married couples living together, 24.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.3% were nonfamilies. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.19. The population was spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males. |align="right"|433,748 |align="right"|216,421 |align="right"|% |align="right"|155,575 |align="right"|% |align="right"|33,038 |align="right"|% |align="right"|6,942 |align="right"|% |align="right"|1,132 |align="right"|% |align="right"|0 |align="right"|% |- ! |2000 Actual |align="right"|467,702 |align="right"|243,939 |align="right"|% |align="right"|198,510 |align="right"|% |align="right"|34,728 |align="right"|% |align="right"|6,444 |align="right"|% |align="right"|1,458 |align="right"|% |align="right"|178 |align="right"|% |- ! |1990 Actual |align="right"|505,616 |align="right"|235,405 |align="right"|% |align="right"|250,234 It is the only district in Ohio that is under direct control of the mayor, who appoints a school board.

Private schools

Benedictine High School

Cleveland Central Catholic High School

Eleanor Gerson School

Montessori High School at University Circle

St. Ignatius High School

St. Joseph Academy

Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School

Urban Community School

Saint Martin de Porres

The Bridge Avenue School

Colleges and universities

on the campus of Case Western Reserve University]] Cleveland is home to a number of colleges and universities. Most prominent among these is Case Western Reserve University, a world-renowned research and teaching institution located in University Circle. A private university with several prominent graduate programs, Case was ranked 38th in the nation in 2007 by U.S. News & World Report. University Circle also contains Cleveland Institute of Art, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Cleveland State University (CSU), based in downtown Cleveland, is the city's public four-year university. In addition to CSU, downtown hosts the metropolitan campus of Cuyahoga Community College, the county's two-year higher education institution, as well as Chancellor University, a private four-year school that focuses on business education. Ohio Technical College is based in Cleveland.

Transportation

Airports

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is the city's major airport and an international airport that serves as one of three main hubs for Continental Airlines. It holds the distinction of having the first airport-to-downtown rapid transit connection in North America, established in 1968. In 1930, the airport was the site of the first airfield lighting system and the first air traffic control tower. Originally known as Cleveland Municipal Airport, it was the first municipally owned airport in the country. Cleveland Hopkins is a significant regional air freight hub hosting FedEx Express, UPS Airlines, United States Postal Service, and major commercial freight carriers. In addition to Hopkins, Cleveland is served by Burke Lakefront Airport, on the north shore of downtown between Lake Erie and the Shoreway. Burke is primarily a commuter and business airport.

Port

The Port of Cleveland, located at the Cuyahoga River's mouth, is a major bulk freight terminal on Lake Erie, receiving much of the raw materials used by the region's manufacturing industries.

Railroads

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Cleveland, via the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited routes, which stop at Cleveland Lakefront Station. Cleveland has also been identified as a hub for the proposed Ohio Hub project, which would bring high-speed rail to Ohio. Cleveland hosts several inter-modal freight railroad terminals.

Mass transit

train arrives at the Shaker Square station ]] Cleveland has a bus and rail mass transit system operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA). The rail portion is officially called the RTA Rapid Transit, but local residents refer to it as The Rapid. It consists of two light rail lines, known as the Green and Blue Lines, and a heavy rail line, the Red Line. In 2008, RTA completed the HealthLine, a bus rapid transit line, for which naming rights were purchased by the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals. It runs along Euclid Avenue from downtown through University Circle, ending at the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland. In 2007, the American Public Transportation Association named Cleveland's mass transit system the best in North America.

Inter-city bus lines

National intercity bus service is provided at a Greyhound station, located just behind the Playhouse Square theater district. Megabus provides service to Cleveland and has a stop outside of Tower City Center in downtown Cleveland. Lakefront Trailways provides regional inter-city bus service to popular destinations from their terminal south of Cleveland in Brook Park. Akron Metro, Brunswick Transit Alternative, Laketran, Lorain County Transit, and Medina County Transit provide connecting bus service to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. Geauga County Transit and Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA) also offer connecting bus service in their neighboring areas.

Major highways

Three two-digit Interstate highways serve Cleveland directly. Interstate 71 begins just southwest of downtown and is the major route from downtown Cleveland to the airport. I-71 runs through the southwestern suburbs and eventually connects Cleveland with Columbus and Cincinnati. Interstate 77 begins in downtown Cleveland and runs almost due south through the southern suburbs. I-77 sees the least traffic of the three interstates, although it does connect Cleveland to Akron. Interstate 90 connects the two sides of Cleveland, and is the northern terminus for both I-71 and I-77. Running due east–west through the west side suburbs, I-90 turns northeast at the junction with and I-490, and is known as the Innerbelt through downtown. At the junction with the Shoreway, I-90 makes a 90-degree turn known in the area as Dead Man's Curve, then continues northeast, entering Lake County near the eastern split with Ohio State Route 2. Cleveland is also served by two three-digit interstates, Interstate 480, which enters Cleveland briefly at a few points and Interstate 490, which connects I-77 with the junction of I-90 and I-71 just south of downtown.

Two other limited-access highways serve Cleveland. The Cleveland Memorial Shoreway carries State Route 2 along its length, and at varying points also carries US 6, US 20 and I-90. The Jennings Freeway (State Route 176) connects I-71 just south of I-90 to I-480 near the suburbs of Parma and Brooklyn Heights. A third highway, the Berea Freeway (State Route 237 in part), connects I-71 to the airport, and forms part of the boundary between Cleveland and Brook Park.

Crime

Based on the Morgan Quitno Press 2008 national crime rankings, Cleveland ranked as the 7th most dangerous city in the nation among US cities with a population of 100,000 to 500,000 and the 11th most dangerous overall. Violent crime from 2005 to 2006 was mostly unchanged nationwide, but increased more than 10% in Cleveland. The murder rate dropped 30% in Cleveland, but was still far above the national average. Property crime from 2005 to 2006 was virtually unchanged across the country and in Cleveland, with larceny-theft down by 7% but burglaries up almost 14%. In 2009, a Cleveland neighborhood located near the intersection of Cedar Avenue and 55th Street ranked the 21st most dangerous neighborhood in the United States.

History

A study in 1971–72 found that although Cleveland's crime rate was significantly lower than other large urban areas, most Cleveland residents feared crime. In the 1980s, gang activity was on the rise, associated with crack cocaine. A task force was formed and was partially successful at reducing gang activity by a combination of removing gang-related graffiti and educating news sources to not name gangs in news reporting.

Distribution

The distribution of crime in Cleveland is highly . Relatively few crimes take place in downtown Cleveland's business district, but the perception of crime in the downtown has been pointed to by the Greater Cleveland Growth Association as damaging to the city's economy. Neighborhoods of higher socioeconomic status in Cleveland and its suburbs have lower rates of violent crime than areas of lower status, and even controlling for this factor, areas with higher populations of African Americans have higher violent crime rates. A study of the relationship between employment access and crime in Cleveland found a strong inverse relationship, with the highest crime rates in areas of the city that had the lowest access to jobs. Furthermore, this relationship was found to be strongest with respect to economic crimes. A study of public housing in Cleveland found that criminals tend to live in areas of higher affluence and move into areas of lower affluence to commit crimes.

People from Cleveland

International relations

Sister cities

Cleveland has twenty sister cities: {| |- style="vertical-align:top;" | Alexandria (Egypt) Bahir Dar (Ethiopia) Bangalore (India) Braşov (Romania) Bratislava (Slovakia) Beit She'an (Israel) Since 1995 Cleveland, England (United Kingdom) Conakry (Guinea) Fier (Albania) Gdańsk (Poland) since 1990 Ibadan (Nigeria) || || Klaipėda (Lithuania) Lima (Peru) Ljubljana (Slovenia) Miskolc (Hungary) Nettuno (Italy) Rouen (France) Segundo Montes (El Salvador) Taipei (Republic of China) Volgograd (Russia) Achill Island (Ireland) |}

See also

Greater Cleveland - The metropolitan area as a whole.

Cleveland East Ohio Gas Explosion

Cleveland Torso Murderer (Kingsbury Run murders)

References

;Notes

;General references

The Encyclopedia Of Cleveland History (2002). Case Western Reserve University.

Cleveland Cartography

Cleveland Memory Project

External links

City Of Cleveland Home Page

Greater Cleveland Partnership (chamber of commerce)

Positively Cleveland (convention and visitors bureau)

Category:Cities in Ohio Category:County seats in Ohio Category:Cuyahoga County, Ohio Category:Port settlements in the United States Category:Populated places in Ohio with African American majority populations Category:Populated places on the Great Lakes Category:Populated places established in 1796

Name	Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
Landscape	no
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	DeAndre Cortez Way
Alias	Soulja Boy, S. Beezy, Dre
Born	July 28, 1990 Chicago, Illinois
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Occupation	Rapper, record producer
Genre	Hip hop
Years active	2004–present
Label	Stacks on Deck/Interscope
Associated acts	Mr. Collipark, Gucci Mane
Url
Notable instruments	FL Studio

DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper and record producer.

In September 2007, his single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was initially self-published on the Internet, and it became a number-one hit in the United States for seven non-consecutive weeks starting in September 2007.

Despite his commercial success, his music has been the subject of ridicule from his peers and critics.

Early life

DeAndre Way was born in Chicago and moved to Atlanta at age six, where he became interested in rap music. At age 14, he moved to Batesville, Mississippi, with his father, who provided a recording studio for Way to explore his musical ambitions.

In November 2005, Way posted his songs on the website SoundClick. Following positive reviews on the site, he then established his own web pages on YouTube and MySpace. In March 2007, he recorded "Crank That" and released his first independent album , followed by a low-budget video filmed demonstrating the "Crank That" dance. By the end of May 2007, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" received its first airplay and Way met with Mr. Collipark to sign a deal with Interscope Records.

On August 12, 2007, the song appeared on the Emmy-award winning HBO series Entourage, and by September 1, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot RingMasters charts. Way's major label debut album Souljaboytellem.com, which was reportedly recorded using just the demo version of FL Studio, was released in the United States on October 2, peaking at #4 on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums charts. On December 9, 2007, Way was sued by William Lyons (a.k.a. Souljah Boy of Mo Thugs Family) who claims he first created the stage name "Souljah Boy".

For the 50th Grammy Awards, Way was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song with "Crank That (Soulja Boy)". He lost to Kanye West's and T-Pain's "Good Life".

Souljaboytellem.com received a favorable review from Allmusic, Several reviewers credited Soulja Boy with spearheading a new trend in hip-hop, while speculating he will likely be a one-hit wonder.

iSouljaBoyTellem (2008–2009)

In June 2008, on DJ Cisco's Urban Legend mixtape, Ice-T criticized Way for "killing hip-hop" and his song "Crank That" for being "garbage" compared to the works of other hip-hop artists such as Rakim, Das EFX, Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube. One of the comments in the exchange was when Ice-T told Way to "eat a dick". The two then traded numerous videos back and forth over the Internet. These videos included a cartoon and video of Ice-T dancing on Way's behalf and an apology, but reiteration of his feelings that Way's music "sucks", on Ice-T's behalf. Rapper Kanye West defended Way by arguing that the younger artist created a new, original work for hip-hop, thus keeping the authentic meaning of the music.

The follow-up to souljaboytellem.com, iSouljaBoyTellem, was released on December 16, 2008, to negative critical reception. The first single from the album, "Bird Walk", peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the top 20 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. "Kiss Me Thru the Phone", with Sammie, followed, peaking at #3 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts.

The DeAndre Way (2009–present)

The DeAndre Way is Way's third studio album, released on November 30, 2010. Way has stated that the album is intended to be his most personal and successful album thus far. When speaking on possible collaborations, he stated he wished to work with artists such as Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West, Eminem, among others. The album was originally called "The DeAndre Way" but was changed in early 2010 to Dre, however it was changed back to The DeAndre Way in July 2010.

The lead single from the album, "POW", was released in January 2009 but failed to garner success and was dubbed a promo single. The official lead single from the album, "Pretty Boy Swag", was released in June 2010. The single has reached number thirty-four on the Billboard Hot 100, number six on the Billboard Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number five on the Billboard Rap Songs chart. The album's second single was due to be "Digital", then "Speakers Going Hammer", but "Blowing Me Kisses" was released on August 31, 2010 as the second single instead. Soulja Boy was to be part of the Summerbeatz tour held in Australia alongside Flo Rida, Jay Sean and Travie McCoy in November 2010, but in lieu of his current album release date and a new tour, Soulja Society, Soulja Boy had declined the offer.

Musical style

Critics and hip hop figures such as Method Man have cited Soulja Boy as artistically typical of contemporary rap trends such as writing for the lucrative ringtone market, and the ascendence of "Southern hip hop", emphasizing catchy music that discards rap's traditional emphasis on message. Soulja Boy identifies his goal as making upbeat, party-themed music that avoids the negative, violent image that he sees in most hip-hop. In the original YouTube video for "Shootout", Soulja Boy demonstrates his dance while holding a handgun in each hand and pretending to shoot into the audience.

Personal life

On December 30, 2008, Way was robbed and assaulted in his home. Initial reports indicated that the robbers were six masked men with AK-47s and pistols but on December 31, 2008, video clips surfaced on the Internet of two masked men claiming sole credit for the crime. Soulja Boy described the incident to MTV News a month later: He had come home very late at night after attending an album release party and was recording songs with friends when the robbers came in pointing their guns.

On October 7, 2009, Way was arrested on one count of obstruction, a misdemeanor, for running from police when he'd been ordered to stop. The rapper was released on $550 bond.

Discography

; Studio albums

Souljaboytellem.com (2007)

iSouljaBoyTellem (2008)

The DeAndre Way (2010)

Awards and nominations

BET Awards

*2007: Best New Artist (Nominated)

*2008: Viewer's Choice Award: "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (Nominated)

*2009: Viewer's Choice Award: "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" (Nominated)

BET Hip-Hop Awards

*2007: Best Hip-Hop Dance (Won)

Grammy Awards

*2008: Best Rap Song: "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" (Nominated)

Ozone Awards

*2007: Patiently Waiting: Mississippi (Won)

*2008: Best Breakthrough Artist (Nominated)

*2008: TJ's DJ's Tastemaker Award (Nominated)

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

*2007: Favorite Male Singer (Nominated)

Teen Choice Awards

*2009: Choice Music: Rap Artist (Nominated)

*2009: Choice Music: R&B; Track for "Kiss Me Thru the Phone" (Nominated)

*2009: Choice Music: Hook Up for "Kiss Me Thru the Phone"

*2009: Choice Music: Artist (Nominated)

References

External links

Official website

Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:African American rappers Category:African American record producers Category:American dance musicians Category:Hip hop record producers Category:Interscope Records artists Category:People from Panola County, Mississippi Category:Rappers from Atlanta, Georgia Category:People from Chicago, Illinois

Name	Nicki Minaj
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Onika Tanya Maraj
Born	December 08, 1984St James, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Origin	New York City, New York, United States
Genre	Hip hop, R&B;
Occupation	Rapper, singer-songwriter
Years active	2004–present
Label	Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money, Universal Motown
Associated acts	Young Money, Lil Wayne, Drake
Url

Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1984), better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj, is a Trinidadian-American rapper and R&B; singer-songwriter. In August 2009, Minaj signed to Young Money Entertainment with distribution from Universal Motown. Minaj was dicovered by fellow American rapper, Lil Wayne and after the three mixtapes, Minaj signed a deal with Young Money Entertainment.

After signing the deal, Minaj began working on her debut album, titled Pink Friday, which charted at number-two on the US Billboard 200, with Susan Boyle holding her off the top spot. Minaj became the first artist ever to have seven songs within the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time. Her second single, "Your Love" reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making Minaj became the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List One month after the release of Pink Friday, Minaj's album gained a Platinum certification in the United States. Minaj is also known for collaborating with other artists, performing guest raps on many popular singles.

Early life

Minaj was born on December 8, 1984 in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago to parents of Indian and Afro Trinidadian descent. She lived in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago with her grandmother until age five, because her parents were looking for a place to live in the Queens borough of New York City at the time. Her mother would occasionally visit, and one day, when Minaj was five, her mother picked her up to move to Queens. According to Minaj, her father drank alcohol, took drugs, and once tried to kill her mother by setting the house on fire.

She attended Elizabeth Blackwell Middle School 210, where she played the clarinet. She graduated from LaGuardia High School. At LaGuardia, a school specializing in music and the visual and performing arts, Minaj participated in the drama program.

Music career

2007–09: Career beginnings and mixtapes

Minaj released her first mixtape in 2007, after releasing, Playtime Is Over with an unknown label. She later released another mixtape on July 7, 2008, titled Sucka Free, under the label of Be. On April 18, 2009, Minaj released a third mixtape and appeared in XXL magazine. Under the label of Trapaholics Records. In 2008 she won the Female Artist of the Year award at the Underground Music Awards. Minaj released Beam Me Up Scotty, another mixtape, in April 2009 which received positive coverage on both BET and MTV.

2010–present: Pink Friday

After a major record label bidding war, Young Money Entertainment announced on August 31, 2009 that Minaj had been released a 360 deal with the label in which she retains and owns all of her 360 rights – including merchandising, sponsorships, endorsements, touring and publishing. In an interview with 95.8 Capital FM, Rihanna stated that after the two collaborated on "Raining Men" from her album Loud that the duo would be teaming up together for a possible second collaboration on Minaj's Pink Friday. Hip-hop rap artist and producer Kanye West was also confirmed for the album.

On August 3, 2010 Minaj revealed on a Ustream.tv channel for her fans that the albums name would be Pink Friday stating, “To carry on a great tradition of Black Friday, we are going to switch it up this year in honor of the Nicki Minaj album and call that day Pink Friday, and call my album Pink Friday,!” A deluxe edition of the album was also released after the standard addition. Nicki Minaj released the artwork for her album cover on Friday, October 15, 2010.

Minaj's debut album, Pink Friday was released on November 19, 2010. A buzz single, "Massive Attack", was released in April. In August, Minaj released "Your Love" as the first official single from her debut album. The single peaked at 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, 7 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Rap Songs chart. Minaj became the first female artist to be included on MTV's Annual Hottest MC List and the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. In October 2010, Minaj became the first artist to have seven songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously. Minaj released a joint single with The Black Eyed Peas front man, will.i.am titled, "Check It Out", which is Minajs most successful single to-date around Europe. "Right thru Me" was released September 24, 2010. Written by Stephen Hacker, Joe Satriani, Andrew Thielk, B.Evans and Minaj herself. The music video was released in late October, which featured Minaj a boy-and-girl relationship drama. "Moment 4 Life" followed "Right thru Me" and was released as the fourth overall single. The track featured Canadian rapper, Drake, which was released on December 7, 2010, which failed to chart as succesfully in the Billboard Hot 100, where it placed itself at number 63. However the single charted at number 10 on the Hot Rap Songs. Minaj's album gained a Platinum certification in the United States a month after the release.

Musical style and image

Image

In an interview with Vibe Minaj discussed her sexual image stating, "[w]hen I grew up I saw females doing certain things, and I thought I had to do that exactly. The female rappers of my day spoke about sex a lot... and I thought that to have the success they got, I would have to represent the same thing. When in fact I didn’t have to represent the same thing." In an interview with Interview, Minaj commented on her sexual image again stating, "I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness, I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that.”

Alter egos

While growing up Nicki was surrounded by constant trouble and fighting between her parents. To escape her real life problems she would create characters and live her life through them. She stated that in songs like "Bottoms Up" with Trey Songz it is not Nicki rapping, but instead Roman Zolanski, and claims that Roman is her "twin sister". Roman has been compared to Eminem's alter ego Slim Shady, and on the song "Roman's Revenge" from Pink Friday, Minaj and Eminem collaborate, using these alter egos. In songs such as "All I Do Is Win (Remix)" it is Nicki rapping. Wearing a colorful scarf around her head, she went around as the "healer to her fans" as she visited them at The Garden of Dreams Foundation at Fuse studios in New York City. Minaj made an appearance on Lopez Tonight on December 6, 2010 and presented a different alter-ego for the Spanish-inspired occasion, named "Rosa" (pronounced Rrrrrosa).

Influences

Minaj has stated that artists who have influenced her musical style include Lil Wayne, Lauryn Hill, Jadakiss, Natasha Bedingfield, Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Missy Elliott.

Personal life

While some songs and interviews have implied that Minaj is bisexual, she has said that she does not date nor have sex with women, but added in an interview with Out magazine, "I don’t date men either". In an interview with Vibe she commented, "I just embrace all people of all lifestyles and I don’t tell them they are bad people. And I say girls are beautiful and girls are sexy and they need to be told that, and if they don’t have anyone to tell them that and mean it, I’m gonna tell them that. But I feel like people always wanna define me and I don’t wanna be defined." She reiterated her dislike of being labeled in an interview with OUT, saying: "The point is, everyone is not black and white. There are so many shades in the middle, and you’ve got to let people feel comfortable with saying what they want to say when they want to say it."

*Best Female Hip-Hop Artist (Won)

*Best New Artist (Won)

*Best Group (Young Money) - (Won)

*Best New Artist (Young Money) - (Nominated)

*Viewer's Choice: "BedRock" (Young Money feat. Lloyd) (Nominated)

2010 Teen Choice Awards

*Choice Breakout Artist – Female (Nominated)

2010 MTV Video Music Awards

*Best New Artist: "Massive Attack" (feat. Sean Garrett) (Nominated)

2010 BET Hip Hop Awards

*Rookie of the Year (Won)

*Made You Look (Won)

*People's Champ (Won)

*Hustler of the Year (Nominated)

*Lyricist of the Year (Nominated)

2010 MOBO Awards

Best International Act (Nominated)

2011 Grammy Awards

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: "My Chick Bad" (Ludacris feat. Nicki Minaj) (Pending)

2011 NAACP Image Awards

Outstanding New Artist (Pending)

References

External links

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:African American female singers Category:African American rappers Category:American musicians of Indian descent Category:American people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Category:Female rappers Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts alumni Category:People from Queens Category:People from Port of Spain Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Singers from New York City Category:Trinidad and Tobago immigrants to the United States Category:Universal Records artists

Name	Lady Gaga
Img alt	Portrait of a young, pale-skinned Caucasian female with blond hair
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Born	March 28, 1986New York City, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, piano, synthesizer, keytar
Genre	Pop, dance
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, performance artist, record producer, dancer, businesswoman
Years active	2005–present
Label	Def Jam, Cherrytree, Streamline, Kon Live, Interscope
Url

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American pop singer-songwriter. She began performing in the rock music scene of New York City's Lower East Side in 2003 and enrolled at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She soon signed with Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records. During her early time at Interscope, she worked as a songwriter for fellow label artists and captured the attention of Akon, who recognized her vocal abilities, and signed her to his own label, Kon Live Distribution.

Gaga came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album The Fame (2008), which was a commercial success and achieved international popularity with the singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". The album reached number one on the record charts of six countries, accomplished positions within the top-ten worldwide, and topped the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart while simultaneously peaking at number two on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. Achieving similar worldwide success, the follow-up EP The Fame Monster (2009), produced a further two global chart-topping singles "Bad Romance" and "Telephone" and allowed her to embark on a second global headlining concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just months after having finished her first, The Fame Ball Tour. Her second studio album, Born This Way, is scheduled for release in 2011.

Inspired by glam rock artists like David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop singers such as Madonna and Michael Jackson, Gaga is well-recognized for her outré sense of style as a recording artist, in fashion, in performance and in her music videos. Her contributions to the music industry have garnered her numerous achievements including two Grammy Awards, amongst twelve nominations; two Guinness World Records; and the estimated sale of fifteen million albums and fifty-one million singles worldwide. Billboard named her as the Artist of the Year in 2010 and ranked her as the 73rd Artist of the 2000s decade. Gaga has been included in Time magazine's annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world as well as Forbes' list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential celebrities in the world. Forbes also placed her at number seven on their annual list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.

Life and career

1986–2004: Early life

Lady Gaga was born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in New York City on March 28, 1986, the eldest child of Joseph Germanotta, an internet entrepreneur, and Cynthia (née Bissett). She learned to play piano from the age of four, went on to write her first piano ballad at 13 and began performing at open mike nights by age 14. Gaga was raised a Roman Catholic. At the age of 11, Gaga attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, a private all-girls Roman Catholic school on Manhattan's Upper East Side, but has stressed that she does not come from a wealthy background, saying that her parents "both came from lower-class families, so we've worked for everything – my mother worked eight to eight out of the house, in telecommunications, and so did my father."

An avid thespian in high school musicals, Gaga portrayed lead roles as Adelaide in Guys and Dolls and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. She described her academic life in high school as "very dedicated, very studious, very disciplined" but also "a bit insecure" as she told in an interview, "I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn’t fit in, and I felt like a freak." Acquaintances dispute that she did not fit in school. "She had a core group of friends; she was a good student. She liked boys a lot, but singing was No. 1," recalled a former high school classmate. Referring to her "expressive, free spirit", Gaga told Elle magazine "I'm left-handed!"

At age 17, Gaga gained early admission to the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and lived in a NYU dorm on 11th Street. There she studied music and improved her songwriting skills by composing essays and analytical papers focusing on topics such as art, religion, social issues and politics. Gaga felt that she was more creative than some of her classmates. "Once you learn how to think about art, you can teach yourself," she said. By the second semester of her sophomore year, she withdrew from the school to focus on her musical career. Her father agreed to pay her rent for a year, on the condition that she re-enroll for Tisch if she was unsuccessful. "I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find, and ate shit until somebody would listen," she said. Shortly after, her former management company introduced her to songwriter and producer RedOne, whom they also managed. The first song she produced with RedOne was "Boys Boys Boys", She also started the Stefani Germanotta Band with some friends from NYU. They recorded an extended play of their ballads at a studio underneath a liquor store in New Jersey, becoming a local fixture at the downtown Lower East Side club scene. Music producer Rob Fusari, who helped her write some of her earlier songs, compared some of her vocal harmonies to that of Freddie Mercury. He explained,

She was known thereafter as Lady Gaga. The pair began playing gigs at downtown club venues like the Mercury Lounge, The Bitter End, and the Rockwood Music Hall, with their live performance art piece known as "Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue." Billed as "The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Rockshow", their act was a low-fi tribute to 1970s variety acts. In August 2007, Gaga and Starlight were invited to play at the American Lollapalooza music festival. The show was critically acclaimed, and their performance received positive reviews.

Fusari sent the songs he produced with Gaga to his friend, producer and record executive Vincent Herbert. Herbert was quick to sign her to his label Streamline Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, upon its establishment in 2007. She credited Herbert as the man who discovered her, adding "I really feel like we made pop history, and we're gonna keep going." While Gaga was writing at Interscope, singer-songwriter Akon recognized her vocal abilities when she sang a reference vocal for one of his tracks in studio. He then convinced Interscope-Geffen-A&M; Chairman and CEO Jimmy Iovine to form a joint deal by having her also sign with his own label Kon Live Distribution Gaga continued her collaboration with RedOne in the recording studio for a week on her debut album The album peaked at number one in United Kingdom, Canada, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland, and the top-five in Australia, the United States and fifteen other countries. Worldwide, The Fame has sold over fourteen million copies. Its lead single "Just Dance" topped the charts in six countries – Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States – and later received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording. The following single "Poker Face" was an even greater success, reaching number-one in almost all major music markets in the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States. It won the award for Best Dance Recording at the 52nd Grammy Awards, over nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. The Fame was nominated for Album of the Year; it won the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Although her first concert tour happened as an opening act for fellow Interscope pop group, the reformed New Kids on the Block, she ultimately headlined her own worldwide concert tour, The Fame Ball Tour, which was critically appreciated and began in March 2009; culminating in September of that year. The cover of the annual "Hot 100" issue of Rolling Stone in May 2009 featured a semi-nude Gaga wearing only strategically placed plastic bubbles. She was nominated for a total of nine awards at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, winning the award for Best New Artist, while her single "Paparazzi" won two awards for Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects. In October, Gaga received Billboard magazine's Rising Star of 2009 award. She attended the Human Rights Campaign's "National Dinner" the same month, before marching in the National Equality March for the equal protection of LGBT people in all matters governed by US civil law in Washington, D.C.

|alt= Profile of a young blond woman. Her hair falls in waves up to her shoulders. She wears a purple leotard with visible sequins attached. Ample bosom, arm and leg are visible.]] Written over the course of 2008–09, The Fame Monster, a collection of eight songs, was released in November 2009. Each song, dealing with the darker side of fame from personal experience while she travelled the world, is expressed through a monster metaphor. Its first single "Bad Romance" topped the charts in eighteen countries, while reaching the top-two in the United States, Australia and New Zealand. In the US, Gaga became the first artist in digital history to have three singles (along with "Just Dance" and "Poker Face") to pass the four million mark in digital sales. The song received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance while its accompanying music video was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video. The album's second single "Telephone", which features singer Beyoncé, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and became Gaga's fourth UK number-one single while its accompanying music video, although controversial, was met mostly positive reception from contemporary critics: praising her for "the musicality and showmanship of Michael Jackson and the powerful sexuality and provocative instincts of Madonna." Her following single "Alejandro" paired Gaga with fashion photographer Steven Klein for a music video similarly as controversial – critics complimented its idea and dark nature, but the Catholic League attacked Gaga for her use of blasphemy. Despite the controversy surrounding her music videos, they have made Gaga one of the first artists to gain over one billion viral views on video-sharing website YouTube. Musically, The Fame Monster has also received abundant success. Equating to the amount of Grammy nominations her debut received, The Fame Monster garnered a total of six – among them Best Pop Vocal Album and her second-consecutive nomination for Album of the Year. The success of the album allowed Gaga to embark on her second headlining worldwide concert tour, The Monster Ball Tour, just weeks after the release of The Fame Monster and months after having finished her first. Upon finishing in May 2011, the critically acclaimed and commercially accomplished concert tour will have ran for over one and a half years. Additionally, Gaga has performed other songs from the album at international events like the 2009 Royal Variety Performance where she sang "Speechless", a power ballad, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II; the 52nd Grammy Awards where her opening performance consisted of the song "Poker Face" and a piano duet of "Speechless" in a medley of "Your Song" with Elton John; and the 2010 BRIT Awards where a performance of an acoustic rendition of "Telephone" followed by "Dance in the Dark" dedicated to the late fashion designer and close friend, Alexander McQueen, supplemented her hat-trick win at the awards ceremony.

Barbara Walters chose Gaga as one the "10 Most Fascinating People of 2009" for her annual ABC News special. When interviewed by the journalist, Gaga dismissed the claim that she is intersex as an urban legend. Responding to a question on this issue, she stated, "At first it was very strange and everyone sorta said, 'That's really quite a story!' But in a sense, I portray myself in a very androgynous way, and I love androgyny." Excited about bringing back Polaroid and "combining it with the digital era", Gaga was named Chief Creative Officer for a line of imaging products for the international optic company in January 2010 with the intent of creating fashion, technology and photography products. Her production team, Mermaid Music LLC, was sued in March by Rob Fusari; claiming that he was entitled to a 20% share of its earnings. Gaga's lawyer, Charles Ortner, described the agreement with Fusari as "unlawful" and declined to comment, however, five months later, the New York Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit. In April, Gaga was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of the year. While giving an interview to The Times, Gaga hinted at having Systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly referred to as lupus, which is a connective tissue disease. She later confirmed with Larry King that she does not have lupus but "the results were borderline positive".

2010–present: Born This Way

Gaga's second studio album and third major release Born This Way, whose title was announced during her acceptance speech for Video of the Year at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, will be released on May 23, 2011. Its arrival will follow the release of its lead single on February 13, 2011. These dates were tweeted by Gaga at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day, 2011. Described as "a marriage of electronic music with major [...] metal or rock 'n' roll, pop, anthemic style melodies with really sledge-hammering dance beats", Born This Way will be Gaga's third release in three years. She stated, "It came so quickly. I've been working on [the album] for months, and I feel very strongly that it's finished right now. Some artists take years. I don't. I write music every day." With two tracks already confirmed by Gaga – one she has been performing during The Monster Ball Tour, she has referred to the album as "the greatest" of the decade about "what keeps us up at night and what makes us afraid." Likening Born This Way to "bad kids going to church" that are "having fun on a high level", Gaga characterized her new music as "something so much deeper than a wig or lipstick or a fucking meat dress" and upon hearing it, Akon remarked that she will take music to the "next level."

Lending her vocal talent elsewhere, Gaga also paired with Elton John to record an original duet for the soundtrack to the forthcoming animated Disney feature film Gnomeo and Juliet. The song, titled "Hello, Hello", is scheduled for release in February 2011.

Musical style and influences

Gaga has been influenced by glam rock artists such as David Bowie and Queen, as well as pop music artists such as Madonna, Britney Spears and Michael Jackson. The Queen song "Radio Ga Ga" inspired her stage name, "Lady Gaga". She commented: "I adored Freddie Mercury and Queen had a hit called 'Radio Gaga'. That's why I love the name [...] Freddie was unique – one of the biggest personalities in the whole of pop music."

Gaga's vocals have drawn frequent comparison to those of Madonna and Gwen Stefani, while the structure of her music is said to echo classic 1980s pop and 1990s Europop. While reviewing her debut album The Fame, The Sunday Times asserted "in combining music, fashion, art and technology, Lady GaGa evokes Madonna, Gwen Stefani circa 'Hollaback Girl', Kylie Minogue 2001 or Grace Jones right now." Similarly, The Boston Globe critic Sarah Rodman commented that she draws "obvious inspirations from Madonna to Gwen Stefani... in [her] girlish but sturdy pipes and bubbly beats." Though her lyrics are said to lack intellectual stimulation, "[she] does manage to get you moving and grooving at an almost effortless pace." Music critic Simon Reynolds wrote that "Everything about Gaga came from electroclash, except the music, which wasn't particularly 1980s, just ruthlessly catchy naughties pop glazed with Auto-Tune and undergirded with R&B;-ish beats.

Gaga has identified fashion as a major influence. Her love of fashion came from her mother, who she stated was "always very well kept and beautiful." Entertainment Weekly put her outfits on its end of the decade "best-of" list, saying, "Whether it's a dress made of Muppets or strategically placed bubbles, Gaga's outré ensembles brought performance art into the mainstream."

Critical reception of Gaga's music, fashion sense and persona are mixed. Her status as a role model, trailblazer and fashion icon is by turns affirmed and denied. Gaga's albums have received mostly positive reviews, Her role as a self-esteem booster for her fans is also lauded, as is her role in breathing life into the fashion industry. Her performances are described as "highly entertaining and innovative"; in particular, the blood-spurting performance of "Paparazzi" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was described as "eye-popping" by MTV. She continued the "blood soaked" theme in The Monster Ball Tour, in which she wore a revealing leather corset and is "attacked" by a performer dressed in black who gnaws on her throat, causing "blood" to spurt down her chest, after which she lies "dying" in a pool of blood. Her performances of that scene in Manchester, England triggered protests from family groups and fans in the aftermath of a local tragedy, in which a taxi driver had murdered 12 people. "What happened in Bradford is very fresh in people's minds and given all the violence which happened in Cumbria just hours earlier, it was insensitive," said Lynn Costello of Mothers Against Violence. Chris Rock later defended her flamboyant, provocative behavior. "Well, she's Lady Gaga," he said. "She's not 'Lady Behave Yourself.' Do you want great behavior from a person named Gaga? Is this what you were expecting?" She later returned to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards wearing a dress which was supplemented by boots, a purse and a hat—each fabricated from the flesh of a dead animal. The dress, named Time magazine's Fashion Statement of 2010 and more widely known as the "meat dress", was made by Argentinian designer Franc Fernandez and received divided opinions—evoking the attention of worldwide media but invoking the fury of animal rights organization PETA. Gaga, however, later denied any intention of causing disrespect to any person or organization and wished for the dress to be interpreted as a statement of human rights with focus upon those in the LGBT community.

Gaga's treatment of her fans as "Little Monsters" has inspired criticism, due to the highly commercial nature of her music and image. Camille Paglia wrote a cover story "Lady Gaga and the death of sex" on September 12, 2010, in The Sunday Times in which she asserts that Gaga "is more an identity thief than an erotic taboo breaker, a mainstream manufactured product who claims to be singing for the freaks, the rebellious and the dispossessed when she is none of those."

Public image

Contrary to her outré style, the New York Post described her early look as like "a refugee from Jersey Shore" with "big black hair, heavy eye makeup and tight, revealing clothes." She has another six known tattoos, among them a peace symbol, which was inspired by John Lennon whom she stated was her hero, Towards the end of 2008, comparisons were made between the fashions of Gaga and fellow recording artist Christina Aguilera that noted similarities in their styling, hair, and make-up. Comparisons continued into 2010 when Aguilera released the music video of her single "Not Myself Tonight". Critics noted similarities between the song and its accompanying music video with Gaga's video for "Bad Romance". There have also been similar comparisons made between Gaga's style and that of fashion icon Dale Bozzio from the band Missing Persons. Some have considered their respective images to be strikingly parallel although fans of Missing Persons note that Bozzio had pioneered the look more than thirty years earlier.

Gaga's influence on modern culture and society has provoked the University of South Carolina into offering a full-time course titled "Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame" in the objective of unravelling "the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga with respect to her music, videos, fashion, and other artistic endeavors".

Philanthropy

Besides her career in music, Gaga has enhanced her repertoire as a philanthropist who has contributed to various charities and humanitarianism works.

Although declining an invitation to record a benefit song, Gaga held a concert of The Monster Ball Tour following the 2010 Haiti earthquake and dedicated it to the country’s reconstruction relief fund. This concert, held at the Radio City Music Hall, New York, on January 24, 2010, donated any received revenue to the relief fund while, in addition, all profits from sales of products on Gaga’s official online store on that same day were donated. Gaga announced that an estimated total of $500,000 was collected for the fund.

Gaga also contributes in the fight against HIV and AIDS with the focus upon educating young women about the risks of the disease. In collaboration with Cyndi Lauper, Gaga joined forces with MAC Cosmetics to launch a line of lipstick under their supplementary cosmetic line, Viva Glam. Titled Viva Glam Gaga and Viva Glam Cyndi for each contributor respectively, all net proceeds of the lipstick line were donated to the cosmetic company’s campaign to prevent HIV and AIDS worldwide. In a press release, Gaga declared, "I don't want Viva Glam to be just a lipstick you buy to help a cause. I want it to be a reminder when you go out at night to put a condom in your purse right next to your lipstick."

, October 11, 2009|alt=A blond woman speaking on a kiosk. She wears a white shirt and black glasses. Behind her, the balcony of a building is visible.]] Gaga attributes much of her early success as a mainstream artist to her gay fans and is considered to be a rising gay icon. Early in her career she had difficulty getting radio airplay, and stated, "The turning point for me was the gay community. I've got so many gay fans and they're so loyal to me and they really lifted me up. They'll always stand by me and I'll always stand by them. It's not an easy thing to create a fanbase." She thanked FlyLife, a Manhattan-based LGBT marketing company with whom her label Interscope works, in the liner notes of The Fame, saying, "I love you so much. You were the first heartbeat in this project, and your support and brilliance means the world to me. I will always fight for the gay community hand in hand with this incredible team." One of her first televised performances was in May 2008 at the NewNowNext Awards, an awards show aired by the LGBT television network Logo, where she sang her song "Just Dance". In June of the same year, she performed the song again at the San Francisco Pride event.

After The Fame was released, she revealed that the song "Poker Face" was about her bisexuality. In an interview with Rolling Stone, she spoke about how her boyfriends tended to react to her bisexuality, saying "The fact that I'm into women, they're all intimidated by it. It makes them uncomfortable. They're like, 'I don't need to have a threesome. I'm happy with just you'." She proclaimed that the October 11, 2009, National Equality March rally on the national mall was "the single most important event of her career." As she exited, she left with an exultant "Bless God and bless the gays," At the rally, she performed a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" declaring that "I'm not going to [play] one of my songs tonight because tonight is not about me, it's about you." She changed the original lyrics of the song to reflect the death of Matthew Shepard, a college student murdered because of his sexuality. In September 2010, she spoke at a rally in favor of repealing the US military's Don't ask, don't tell policy, which prohibits lesbian, gay and bisexual people from serving openly, and released an online video urging her fans to contact their Senators in an effort to get the policy overturned. Editors of The Advocate commented that she had become the "fierce advocate" for gays and lesbians that future president Barack Obama had promised to be during his campaign.

Discography

The Fame (2008)

The Fame Monster (2009)

Born This Way (2011)

Tours

The Fame Ball Tour (2009)

The Monster Ball Tour (2009–11)

Awards and nominations

See also

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of best-selling music artists

References

Further reading

External links

Year in Gaga: A Provocative 2010 — slideshow by Life magazine

Category:1986 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American dance musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:American female pop singers Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Bisexual musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Feminist artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Interscope Records artists Category:Keytarists Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Living people Category:New York University alumni Category:Singers from New York Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Wonky Pop acts

Name	Alex Lifeson
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Alexandar Zivojinovich (Aleksandar Živojinović)
Birth date	August 27, 1953
Birth place	Fernie, British Columbia, Canada
Instrument	Guitar, mandola, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki, synthesizers, backing vocals
Genre	Hard rock, progressive rock, heavy metal
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer
Years active	1968–present
Label	Mercury, Anthem, Atlantic
Associated acts	Rush
Notable instruments	Gibson ES-355Gibson Les PaulPRS SE & Custom Series

Alex Lifeson, OC (born Aleksandar Živojinović; August 27, 1953) is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist of the Canadian rock band Rush. In the summer of 1968, Lifeson founded the band that would become Rush with friend and original drummer John Rutsey. He has been an integral member of the three-piece band ever since.

For Rush, Lifeson plays electric and acoustic guitars as well as other stringed instruments such as mandola, mandolin, and bouzouki. He also performs backing vocals in live performances, and occasionally plays keyboards and bass pedal synthesizers. During live performances, Lifeson, like the other members of Rush, performs real-time triggering of sampled instruments, concurrently with his guitar playing. The bulk of Lifeson's work in music has been with Rush, although Lifeson has contributed to a body of work outside of the band as well. Aside from music, Lifeson is part owner of the Toronto restaurant The Orbit Room, and is a licensed aircraft pilot.

Along with his bandmates Geddy Lee and Neil Peart, Lifeson was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on May 9, 1996. The trio was the first rock band to be so honoured, as a group. Lifeson and the rest of the band recently finished touring North and South America on the first leg of the Time Machine Tour, which finished October 17 in Santiago, Chile.

Biography

Early life

Lifeson was born Aleksandar Živojinović in Fernie, British Columbia to Serbian immigrants, Nenad and Milka Zivojinovich (from Serbian: Живојиновић, Živojinović), and raised in Toronto, Ontario. His first exposure to formal music training came in the form of the viola, which he renounced for the guitar at the age of 12. His first guitar was a Christmas gift from his father, a six-string Kent classical acoustic which was later upgraded to an electric Japanese model. During his adolescent years, he was influenced primarily by Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. In 1963 Lifeson met future Rush drummer John Rutsey in school. Both interested in music, they decided to form a band. Lifeson was primarily a self-taught guitarist with the only formal instruction coming from a high school friend in 1971 who taught classical guitar lessons. This training lasted for roughly a year and a half.

Lifeson recalls what inspired him to play guitar in a 2008 interview:

Lifeson's first girlfriend, Charlene, gave birth to their eldest son, Justin, in October 1970, and they married in 1975. Their second son, Adrian, who is also involved in music, performed on two tracks from Lifeson's 1996 solo project, Victor.

Rush

Lifeson is a founding member of the progressive rock band Rush. His neighbour John Rutsey began experimenting on a rented drum kit and, in early 1968, Lifeson and Rutsey formed The Projection, which eventually became Rush following the recruitment of original bassist/vocalist Jeff Jones. Geddy Lee assumed this role soon after.

Instrumentally, Lifeson is regarded as a guitarist whose strengths and notability rely primarily on signature riffing, electronic effects and processing, unorthodox chord structures, and a copious arsenal of equipment used over the years. Despite his esteem, however, Lifeson is often regarded as being overshadowed by his bandmates due to Lee's on-stage multi-instrumental dexterity and Peart's status as a drummer.

Rush was on hiatus for several years starting in 1997 owing to personal tragedies in Neil Peart's life, and Lifeson had not picked up a guitar for at least a year following those events. However, after some work in his home studio and on various side projects, Lifeson returned to the studio with Rush to begin work on 2002's Vapor Trails. Vapor Trails is the first Rush album since the 1970s to lack keyboards—as such, Lifeson used over 50 different guitars in what Shawn Hammond of Guitar Player called "his most rabid and experimental playing ever." Geddy Lee was amenable to leaving keyboards off the album due in part to Lifeson's ongoing concern about their use. Lifeson's approach to the guitar tracks for the album eschewed traditional guitar riffs and solos in favor of "tonality and harmonic quality."

In a 2003 episode of the Canadian mockumentary Trailer Park Boys, titled "Closer to the Heart", Lifeson plays a partly-fictional version of himself. In the story, he is kidnapped by Ricky and held as punishment for his inability (or refusal) to provide the main characters with free tickets to a Rush concert. In the end of the episode, Alex reconciles with the characters, and performs a duet of "Closer to the Heart" with Bubbles at the trailer park.

In 2008, Lifeson and the rest of Rush were invited to play the full version of their song "Tom Sawyer" at the end of the TV show The Colbert Report. According to Stephen Colbert, the host of the TV show, this was their first appearance on American television, as a band, in 33 years.

Lifeson appeared in , as a traffic cop in the opening scene and then again in but this time in drag as an undercover vice cop. In 2009, he and the rest of the band appeared as themselves in the comedy I Love You, Man.

In 2010 Lifeson has appeared in the independent Canadian film Suck playing the role of an American border guard who initially tries to make problems to the band members wishing to enter the US, upon hearing that they are a band his attitude changes, he mentions that he was also in a band once and let's them enter while saying "Rock On".

In 2010, Lifeson will also appear in The Drunk and On Drugs Happy Fun Time Hour, a new series from the Trailer Park Boys team.

The Naples incident

On New Year's Eve 2003, Lifeson, his son, and his daughter-in-law were arrested at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Naples, Florida. Lifeson, after intervening in an altercation between his son and police, was accused of assaulting a sheriff's deputy in what was described as a drunken brawl. In addition to suffering a broken nose at the hands of the officers, Lifeson was tased six times. His son was also tased repeatedly.

On April 21, 2005, Lifeson and his son agreed to a plea deal with the local prosecutor for the State's Attorney office to avoid jail time by pleading no contest to a first-degree misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence. As part of the plea agreement Lifeson and his son were each sentenced to 12 months of probation with the adjudication of that probation suspended. Lifeson acknowledged his subsequent legal action against both the Ritz-Carlton and the Collier County Sheriff's Department for "their incredibly discourteous, arrogant and aggressive behaviour of which I had never experienced in thirty years of travel." Although both actions were initially dismissed in April 2007, legal claims against the Ritz-Carlton were reinstated upon appeal, and ultimately settled out of court in August 2008, with Lifeson and his son agreeing to a confidential settlement from Ritz-Carlton.

In his journal-based book Roadshow, Peart relates the band's perspective on the events of that New Year's Eve.

Guitar equipment

In Rush's early career, Lifeson used a Gibson ES-335 for the first single and the first four Rush studio albums. For the 2112 tour, he used a 1974 Gibson Les Paul and Marshall amplification. For the A Farewell to Kings sessions, Lifeson began using a Gibson EDS-1275 for songs like Xanadu and his main guitar became a personally customized white Gibson ES-355. During this period Lifeson used Hiwatt amplifiers. For effects Lifeson used various phaser and flanger pedals, a Cry Baby Wah Wah, along with Marshall 100 watt Super Lead amplifiers and 4x12 cabinets. Beginning in the late 1970s, he increasingly incorporated twelve-string guitar (acoustic and electric) and used a Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble and later, the Boss Dimension C.

By 1982 Lifeson's primary guitar was a modified Fender Stratocaster with a Bill Lawrence high-output humbucker L-500 in the bridge position and a Floyd Rose vibrato bridge. Lifeson increasingly relied on a selection of four identically modified Stratocasters from 1980 to 1986, all of them equipped with the Floyd Rose bridge. As a joke, he called these Hentnor Sportscasters - a made-up name based Peter Henderson's name, who was the producer of Grace Under Pressure. For the Moving Pictures and Signals albums, and on concurrent tours, Lifeson used up to four rare Marshall 4140 Club & Country 100W combo amps. In the mid 1980s Lifeson switched from vacuum tube to solid-state amplification, all with an increasingly thick layer of digital signal processing. He became an endorser of Gallien-Krueger and Dean Markley solid-state guitar amplifier lines and Dean Markley Blue Steel strings respectively, gauges .009-.046. In the late 1980s he switched to Carvin amplifiers in the studio. By 1987, Lifeson exclusively switched to using his Signature Guitar Co brand guitars onstage and in the studio. These guitars were most noted for generating his unique sound through the use of Evans single coil pickups wired to an onboard active preamp circuit. This enabled him to produce higher frequencies to "cut through" the heavy use and sounds of Geddy Lee's keyboards.

Lifeson primarily used PRS guitars during the recording of Roll The Bones in 1990/1991. When recording 1993's Counterparts, Lifeson continued to use PRS Guitars and Marshall amplifiers to record the album, and for the subsequent tour. Lifeson continued to use PRS along with Fender and Gibson guitars, Hughes & Kettner Triamp MK II and zenTera amplifiers and cabinets.

In 2005, Hughes & Kettner introduced an Alex Lifeson signature series amplifier with $50 from each amplifier sold will be donated to UNICEF.

in the 'Heritage Cherry Sunburst'. This guitar has been modified to incorporate a Floyd Rose tremolo.]]

For the 2007 Snakes & Arrows Tour, Lifeson replaced his PRS Guitars with Gibson Les Pauls. In a 2007 interview for Guitarist magazine, Lifeson states "I hear PRS on everything these days and I wanted a little bit of a change ... I love them [PRS] but they have a smaller sound than the bigger heavier Gibsons ... I just wanted to be more traditional." He has Fishman Aura piezoelectric pickup systems installed in his Les Pauls to model acoustic guitar sounds without changing guitars. As of July 2008, Lifeson uses Floyd Rose tremolos on his main Les Pauls. He has also replaced his Hughes & Kettner zenTera amp heads with Switchblade heads (which, like the zenTeras, include built-in programmable digital effects, such as chorus and delay, but use vacuum tubes instead of transistors) for the amplification circuits, while retaining his signature series H&K; Triamp heads. His effects for the 2007 tour include a TC Electronic G-Force rack multi-FX, a TC Electronic 1210 spatial expander and a Loft 440 Delay Line/Flanger, as well as the effects built into his Switchblade heads.

Other instruments played

In addition to traditional stringed instruments such as acoustic and electric guitars, Lifeson has also played mandola, mandolin and bouzouki on recent Rush studio albums, including Test For Echo, Vapor Trails and Snakes & Arrows. During live Rush performances, Lifeson uses a MIDI controller that enables him to use his feet to trigger sounds from digital samplers, without taking his hands off his guitar. (Prior to this, Lifeson used Moog Taurus Bass Pedals before they were obsolesced and replaced by Korg MIDI pedals in the 1980s.) Lifeson and his bandmates share a desire to accurately depict songs from their albums when playing live performances. Toward this goal, beginning in the late 1980s the band equipped their live performances with a capacious rack of samplers. The band members use these samplers in real-time to recreate the sounds of non-traditional instruments, accompaniments, vocal harmonies, and other sound "events" that are familiarly heard on the studio versions of the songs. In live performances, the band members share duties throughout most songs, with each member triggering certain sounds with his available limbs, while playing his primary instrument(s).

Favourite guitar solos

When MusicRadar asked Lifeson, in 2009, which were his favourite guitar solos that he ever wrote with Rush, he responded with:

"Limelight" (1981)

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"Kid Gloves" (1984)

"Freewill" (1980)

Awards

"Best Rock Talent" by Guitar for the Practicing Musician in 1983

"Best Rock Guitarist" by Guitar Player Magazine in 1984 and May 2008

Runner-up for "Best Rock Guitarist" in Guitar Player in 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986

Inducted into the Guitar for the Practicing Musician Hall of Fame, 1991

1996 - Officer of the Order of Canada, along with fellow bandmates Geddy Lee and Neil Peart

"Best Article" for "Different Strings" in Guitar Player (September issue).

Most Ferociously Brilliant Guitar Album (Snakes & Arrows) - Guitar Player Magazine, May 2008

References

External links

Audio-Technica interview with Alex

Read 2002 CNN interview with Alex

Alex Lifeson gear, by songs

Order of Canada citation

Category:1953 births Category:Canadian rock guitarists Category:Lead guitarists Category:Living people Category:Officers of the Order of Canada Category:Rush (band) members Category:Canadian people of Serbian descent Category:Musicians from Toronto Category:Progressive rock guitarists